The Birmingham Genealogical Society was organized March 15, 1959. It was organized exclusively for educational and research purposes, and to foster preservation of genealogical and historical material. We are located in Jefferson County, Alabama, USA.

It is hard for most of us to imagine a world without the Food & Drug Administration, no knowledge of bacteria and germs, and lack of qualified medical practitioners, but that was the case 100-150 years ago. Mr. Flannery will discuss both the myths and the facts of the era of patent medicines in the United States.

Michael Flannery is the author of 8 books, most recently Alfred Russel Wallace: A Rediscovered Life (2011). Most of his research and published work has been in the history of pharmacy. In 2007 he edited and reissued Nicholas Culpeper’s English Physician, which he published with the University of Alabama Press. He is professor and Associate Director for Historical Collections at UAB. Although a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, since 1999 he has been happy to call Alabama his home, where he lives with his wife and three mischievous cats in Shelby County.